


False Sapphire

by Saita_the_Kirin



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Abandonment, Adoption, Child Abandonment, Courtship, Dragonspeak, F/F, Marriage, Self-Worth Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-19 11:40:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22644325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saita_the_Kirin/pseuds/Saita_the_Kirin
Summary: Reality always seems to be harsher then any fantasy could ever be. A human child thrown away by her own kind, adopted and raised by dragons struggles to understand why she can't be the same as they are and what that means for her future as she works to make a life for herself amongst a people whom share a type of freedom she'll never have.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is one of many stories I've been working on for myself but when I showed it to a few friends they wanted more so I decided to take a crack at it.
> 
> This has been a personal character I've been playing around with and now I'm working to make a story from her. Never would I have thought I would make a story for an OC much less a full world for her. We'll see how this goes I suppose.
> 
> ~Enjoy

The doors to the private nesting chambers opened accompanied by loud, gasping wails of an infant. Two heads turned to see Strun, a large aging male Nadder who was just coming into his middle age in life walking in, cradled in his large leather wings was a tiny bundle of cloth from which the source of the wailing was coming from. Faad, his wife, cautiously approached her husband who could only look to her, then to the bundle then back to her with a look of helpless confusion.

Mul, their son, approached his father with far less worry than his mother had and eyed the bundle curiously. The teenager nudged the bundle of cloth with his large nose earning him a growl of warning from his sire who pulled the wailing bundle closer to his chest. Faad looked to her husband and nodded her large head to give permission for him to show her what exactly he had brought into their nesting chambers.

With a gentleness that no one would think the creature capable of, Strun peeled back the cloth to reveal a tiny, reddish pink human infant who couldn't be any older than a few days. Faad recoiled as if the sight of the child had struck her. She looked to her husband to ask what this was but he had no answers for her. He could only look at her with a confused pity as he cradled the child, gently rocking her to try and sooth the infant's ear splitting cries.

Mul paid his parent's distress no mind as he stared at the tiny baby crying in his sire's wings. This creature was weird to him. It was clearly a hatchling but it didn't look like any hatchling he had ever seen before. Then again most females wouldn't dare allow their newborns out of their sight much less around an irresponsible young male. Despite all of this he couldn't help but be fascinated by the small child that was finally starting to quiet down.

Despite his better judgement he decided to speak up and voice his liking of the child that was held carefully in his sire's wings. This earned him a sharp glare from both of his parents who were arguing amongst themselves about what to do. Strun wanted to keep the infant as the child had been literally thrown at him by the cowardly humans who birthed her. Faad shook her head and wanted to be rid of the child. She was not a dragon, she couldn't thrive here. She reasoned that it would be better for the child that she be raised by her own kind.

Finally Faad grunted in annoyance and carefully plucked the infant from her husband's wings which caused the baby to start crying again. Faad looked down at the infant screaming for all she was worth in her wings and she found her resistance wilting as the infant cried helplessly. She simply didn't have a heart made of stone and the baby in her wings reminded her of when she held her own son when he was a hatchling. She missed being a mother. She and Strun had certainly tried for more children but fate seemed to see fit that she would only have one.

She cooed softly and rocked the child who calmed in a rather quick manor, looking up at the Nadder with a tired fascination. Strun knew in that moment that his wife would sooner part with her wings then give up her new daughter. She hummed a soft lullaby that she had heard when she herself was a young chick in her mother's nest. She walked into their private nest and set the infant gently in a crib that she couldn't seem to part with from when her son was a hatchling. The crib had been passed down to her from her own mother as a part of a tradition, a well wish from your mother for many children. The infant was tiny in comparison to the massive crib that was made for the much larger dragon hatchlings but she looked so cute as she cooed back towards the dragoness.

Strun quietly walked into the nesting room as his daughter fell asleep to his wife's gentle humming. It was rare to see his normally fierce and stern wife show her much softer, more motherly side. She had long since made peace with the idea that she wouldn't have any more children and Strun couldn't help but think that she was far more hurt by this then she had let on.

Strun himself wanted a big family, in the earlier years of their partnership they would often bicker and fight, pointing claws at each other as the reason for their lack of hatchlings. It had nearly ended their relationship until they had gotten lucky as one of their eggs had managed to survive and lead to their son Mul being born. After the stress of worrying if they're son would be born they had a very long, very painful discussion that ended in a mutual agreement to stop trying for more children as it would only lead to more pain.

Since then they had grown closer bonding over their love for their son and the time they could share together because of only having one. Maybe this was a gift from their ancestors for being able to get through one of the worst rough patches in their lives together. Once he was sure that their daughter was well and truly asleep he managed to all but tear his wife away from the crib.

She very reluctantly joined him in their main living quarters where Mul had been patiently waiting for his parents to come out. He looked towards his parents silently asking what was going to happen next. Mul had just very recently left his parent's nest a few years ago now and moved into the guard recruits barracks as a guard in training. While he no longer lived with his parents, he wasn't completely independent yet.

His sire and dam both looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They would ask for the council's blessing in the hopes that they could adopt the child. Strun was a respected member of the council that decided on matters around the islands and his wife was a stern but well liked record keeper for their dragon's colony, surely the court would allow them to keep the child who was so callously abandoned by her human parents.

Even with the ever present concerns of not being able to keep their child they simply couldn't allow her to continue on without a name. It could possibly make it so much harder for them if they couldn't keep her but that was simply a risk they would have to take.

After an hour's long discussion over possible names they decided on the name Kah. When their son was born he was a source of strength that neither had in a very difficult and painful time of their life, Kah would be their pride after having literally been thrown into their lives. They would raise this child who was unwanted by man and would show that she was too good for them, that her place was with the proud family of dragons that would love and raise her as a Nadder.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All italic speach is spoken in the dragon's language meaning growls, grunts, hisses and cooing.
> 
> ~Enjoy

Strun looked himself over in a large reflective puddle that he had found from the morning's rainfall as he made sure for the third time that his royal blue scales were polished and that his gray council robes were free from unnecessary wrinkles. It was very important that he looked as presentable as possible, it was an unspoken rule of the court that you looked your best less you want to be dismissed for showing disrespect to the council. This was a rule that he had never had a problem enforcing in the past. Now it almost seemed like a cruel joke that he should stress himself over the rules and edicates which he had long since memorised.

He and his wife Faad were to appear before his fellow council members today and plead that they be allowed to keep their human child. It was only rumors and speculations that Strun had brought the infant to the hidden island, some of his work companions had even laughed when they heard this. Surely it was a jest on Strun’s part, his relaxed demeanor compared to his colleagues had made him one of the more approachable council members on the seclusive islands.

A soft clicking of claws on the hard stone floor outside of the court building let him know that his wife had come to find him for the meeting. His beautiful wife seemed to sparkle in the light from the countless amethyst carefully placed amongst her headdress and robes that complimented her purple hued scales, she had been sure to shine each gemstone so that they gleamed. She carried herself with a poise and grace that was expected of her as both a council member’s spouse and as a record’s keeper. Even with all of this Strun could see his wife’s sharp cunning eyes, she was pulling out all the tricks to help persuade some of the weaker willed members who were bewitched by her beauty like her husband was.

Strun felt weakened for a moment before taking a breath and standing a little taller. Reassured with his wife by his side he took the ten steps that led to the large wooden doors that were carved with an intricate depiction of the powerful dragons of old. Pushing them open he walked in with his head raised high in pride and confidence in every step that he did not feel. He wanted to be sick but the thought of that sweet little angel that had literally been thrown at him bulwarked his waning convictions.

Statues lined the massive hallway dedicated to heroes of the past. He idly wondered if any of them would side with him on this matter, what would they do if presented with the agonising choice of losing a child they had bonded with or holding tight to what they had built up for themselves over their whole lifes? Even if they would be allowed this would it be a true victory or would it be bitter and pyrrhic?

Strun would have liked to believe that they would succeed and live a happy life but he knew better of it. It was in a dragon’s very nature to be greedy. Even this was a form of greed on his and his wife’s part. They wanted this child so badly that they would not only risk the security that they had for themselves but that of their son’s as well. While Mul was enamoured with the child, Strun doubted that he fully understood just how much was at stake, how much he actually stood to lose from this.

He shook his head and called upon a deep well of inner strength that he had been filling everyday of his life for a battle he never knew he would have to fight, today finally seem fit for it. All too soon he was standing before the council with his wife taking her place behind him coyly, a powerful alpha male and his loyal wife greeted the council of authoritative and respected dragons.

The four council members dressed in the same gray robes as Strun sat on a raised platform on fat pillows so as not to be forced to rest on the warm stone beneath them, all of them ignored the empty pillow that was for Strun. The imposing stone wall had a brief glimpse of their island’s history carved into its smooth surface. The split of their neighbouring dragon colonies due to overpopulation, finding the several islands that judded straight up from the sea, unreachable by any who could not fly and the settling of the lands by the dragons.

Each dragon nodded silently after a minute of silence to signal that they were ready to hear from the pair before them. Strun straightened up and spoke low and slowly, making sure that every word was spoken clearly and respectfully. _“Esteemed members, I Strun, stand before you and call upon your mercy in a most sensitive of matters.”_ Every dragon in the room stared at him intently, what they thought was carefully hidden behind a mask of neutrality that had been honed by years of meetings and the unspoken rules of court known best by its members. _“Three nights ago I was away on an extended hunting trip, winter’s chill has bitten deep into the surrounding lands making prey scarce. I was forced to hunt closer to the human’s village than I would have liked, in that time I heard footsteps not belonging to prey but to humans.”_

Strun clearly had the full attention of the entire room but he knew better then to think that the attention was positive. _“The humans were clearly a mated couple. They bickered and argued about something that was beyond my understanding of their language but from what I had been able to make out they were displeased about their ‘baby’”_ the word sat oddly in his muzzle as he tried his best to mimic the word that was used _“they did not seem to care for anything around them as they fought. The newborn in their arms seems to have been the source of their argument, I heard the words ‘is a burden’ and ‘should have been dealt with earlier’ being said.”_

Strun was careful to control his tone, he couldn’t let his anger with the human's words get to him in front of the council less it damage his chances. No, these dragons prefered it that you keep your emotions in check as it made judging the facts of the case much easier. He would have to wait for an appropriate time to properly vent his frustrations, for now he had to be strong for his family and more importantly for his daughter who needed him now more than ever.

_“The humans had stepped out of the cover of the thicket that lined the path they had been taking as they discussed what they would do with their ‘burden’ when one of them, the female holding the child caught sight of me. They both screamed in terror and then the female did something that I have trouble understanding even now; she threw her hatchling at me with a shriek of ‘eat the baby!’ before they both turned around and fled for their lives. Not knowing what else to do I bundled the child whom was wrapped in a cloth up in my mouth to keep her from freezing to death and flew back here, I thought that I could think of what to do with the infant here so I would be sure that she would not perish before any decisions could be made."_

The temperature of the immediate area had risen several degrees as the the collective dragons took this all in with an indiscernible silence. This was all apart of the game as each dragon considered the story and formed their opinions. Strun patiently waited for one of the council members to break the quiet that befell the room. Finally after a long pause one of them spoke up. _"What is it that you seek to gain by doing this Strun?"_ Strun looked at Vahlok, a Sentinel that was older than him by about ten years. They were good friends outside of work but he knew better then to think that would do him any favors.

 _"I wish to raise the child with my wife here on the island."_ Maleyk, a Monstrous Nightmare who was more of his great grandfather’s mindset, Rahgot Bloodbane, spoke next. His words came as a heated growl. _“A human? Here? Shall we open the vail and allow them to poison our bloodlines and invade our lands?”_ No one knew from where he developed this mindset but none of the others spoke up against him, it was his right as a council member to speak his mind.

 _“I am curious as to why you would want to keep the child here instead of returning her to the other humans, Strun?"_ Strun perked up a little at the question, he had been waiting for this. _“I feel that the child would not be welcomed by humans. Unlike any dragon I know the humans chose to get rid of the newborn rather than finding a surrogate to care for her. She does not smell of illness or death, she certainly doesn’t sound like it either when she is upset.”_ Strun couldn’t keep a dry grumble as he thought of his daughter’s high piercing wails in that moment. _“I believe if I were to return the child that she would be killed or abandoned again. It could be due to a severe food shortage on the human’s end.”_ It wasn’t a complete lie, he had not seen much in the way of food in the lands close to the human’s village but the humans he had seen were fat in both muscle and belly size.

 _“Isn’t that all the more reason for us to be rid of the child ourselves? She would be nothing more than another mouth to feed and it’s not as if she can fly and pull her weight around here.”_ This was considered by the other dragons as well. Being a council member did not excuse a dragon from day to day chores like hunting and water gathering, if Maleyk was going to try and use this as his trump card then he was as inexperienced as he was young. _“The child would certainly eat less rations then you would Maleyk.”_ The Nightmare’s head snapped around to shoot a heated glare at the oldest dragon on the council, Prem paid it no mind. She was a Raincutter who had lost most of the color in her soft blue scales, despite her appearance her wits were still as sharp as her tongue as she jeered the younger dragon. _“The way I see it, I doubt the child would eat very much and it’s not like the rest of her family couldn’t take her to where she needed to go.”_

Faad stepped around her husband, the normally fierce dragoness appeared timid and feminine before the council. Maleyk’s scowl softened immediately as his eyes traced the female’s form, lingering on her hips a little longer than necessary. _“I believe that my husband was asked earlier what he would gain from this, but I haven’t been asked yet as his mate.”_ The room quieted down as all eyes turned to the dragoness, _“I must admit that I thought my husband was unwell in the head when he brought the newborn home. I admit that I had given up hope of ever having more children, that idea has been weighing heavy on my mind and I had more or less resigned myself to this fact until my husband brought home the newborn.”_ Her soft voice carried joy as she thought warmly of the child resting back in the safety of their nest under the care of a trusted babysitter.

Maleyk’s features hardened slightly at the warmth the dragoness would dare show to a human. _“You should know better than to bond to a child you should not be allowed to keep.”_ His low venomous hiss had no visible effect on the dragoness as her husband instinctively puffed up a little at the hostility being directed towards his wife. _“Do you think the child will truly be happy here?”_ All eyes turned to see the smallest member of the council, Ahvos.

The Terrible Terror was barely heard as his voice was soft and barely audible. He had never been quite right after he lost his family in that hunting trip all those years ago, many doubted that he was still even able to speak as he had abstained from it for so long. _“Will she truly be happy in a land that she was not born too, and surrounded by creatures who are so different and much stronger then she will ever be? What will she do when it comes time to find a partner?"_

Strun held back a wince as he contemplated the question. It was true that she would have problems living here but that’s something he knew they could think around. He was sure that she could be happy here given enough time and work. _“I think she can. We have worked hard so that many types of dragons can live here comfortably, humans and dragons have been proven capable of living together in the past in both living conditions and in matters of starting a family. We have magic and spells that have been used to solve a great deal of issues when it came to the difference in both dragon species as well as human and dragon relations. Should we not allow her a chance here with a family that wants her over having her killed by a village that didn’t?”_

All the dragons could feel the finality of the argument as the call for a vote was made. Prem and Ahvos raised their votes for the child to stay, Maleyk voted that the child be sent away, the only one who seemed undecided was Vahlok. He was always the slowest to vote, taking his time to mull over everything much to the annoyance of the quick tempered Maleyk. After a full minute he shook his mighty head as if he had finally come to his decision. _“I will allow the child to stay. This only stands with the condition that if humans ever do come to reclaim the that you allow it.”_

Strun and Faad nodded in agreement and bowed before the court, there was a low agitated growling from Maleyk that was for the most part ignored by the rest of the assembled dragons. Strun made sure to remember that he would never dare allow the aggressive dragon around his daughter alone. Strun had never paid any mind to his comments against humans or half breeds choosing instead to pour himself fully into his work and ignore him but now the younger dragon's ideas concerned him.

Once the couple was dismissed they quickly left to go to their nesting chambers and relieve the babysitter. When they got to the doors that lead into their private nest they could see a small crowd of dragons who were either curious about the newborn or wanted to know how the meeting had gone. Strun growled in warning to get them to back away so that he and his wife could get through the door without a collapsing pile of dragons following them. Faad no longer having to keep up the act nipped and swatted at the assembled dragons with her tail further encouraging them to back off.

Once they managed to get the doors shut behind them they went to check on their daughter. Shiraav turned to greet them with a nod and a shushing motion, their daughter slept peacefully in her oversized crib. Strun pointed towards the other room so he could speak to her without risk of waking the child, Faad’s soft hums followed them out as they regrouped in the living room. Shiraav was a plump old nadder who helped them through Mul’s early years as well as the stress from the heart crushing realisation that they would never have any more children. The sweet old dragoness was all too happy to help when she heard about the family’s newest arrival. _“You look well, good news I hope?”_ Strun nodded with a whisper _“Maleyk put up a good fight but the council voted in our favor.”_

Shiraav let out a relieved sigh before she huffed in annoyance _“He has always been a troublesome child. I think he found something on that trip he took to the larger colony thirty years ago that poisoned his mind.”_ She shook her head and walked towards the door _“I have other duties to attend to but I will let you know if I hear anything regarding your daughter.”_ Strun thanked her and closed the door behind her. Once she was gone he let himself sink to the floor as the events of the meeting washed over him.

They could keep her, thank the ancestors they got to keep their daughter. He spared a thought to what this might do to his career, council members were strongly encouraged to not have young children less it interfere with their duties, more so when he was their island's representative when it came to matters off of the islands. This was going to be a problem for the future he supposed. Human's did age considerably faster than dragons so it might not be too much of a problem but it was still enough to be a concern. This was a problem for the future though and he wouldn't allow these thoughts to keep him from enjoying the great gift they had not only been given but had been allowed to keep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooowee, this chapter took me a while. This is gonna be a long one and I plan on doing more in time but for now I'm gonna focus on writting for a few other stories.
> 
> As always I love reading and replying to comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> ~Enjoy

Kah had been a little terror since she learned how to walk, often running around as fast as her little legs would carry her which wasn't very fast at all compared to the adults. Strun and Faad had learned very quickly that their daughter had a voracious curiosity for any little thing she could get her tiny hands on and no amount of scolding could change that. It had gotten to the point of them having to have a harness and tie made to go over her clothing just so they wouldn't lose her in a momentary lapse of focus.

Despite all of this Faad and Strun beamed with joy as they watched their little girl grow before their eyes. It only felt like a few days had passed when they were celebrating their daughter's eighth birthday. Kah being a child didn't care much about the celebration even if it meant gifts and sweet treats. She was bored of being cooped up in the big tower and wanted to be allowed to play outside with the other dragon children her age. She never liked it when her parents told her she couldn't play with them. They would always tell her that she was too young to play with them or that the other kids were too strong and might hurt her.

Kah had decided early on that she thought that this was stupid. She might only be eight but she was a Nadder. A proud and strong dragon! It only made sense to her that she should be allowed to play with the other kids and while she had respected her parent's wishes up to this point that she had enough of that. She wanted friends that were her age, not like her favorite nanny who was so much older then she was. Shiraav was a very nice old Nadder who would often take her for walks in the huge garden on her home island that was so much bigger than her parent's nesting chambers. She would often see other dragons there but she was never allowed to go over and play with them no matter how much fun it looked like they were having.

It wasn't fair.

She would often be forced to go with her mother while she stared at those big, heavy, dusty old books with no pictures in them. She would often just sit and stare at the easier books that she could read before she turned away with a huff. Reading was boring. She didn't know how her mother could do this almost everyday and not go crazy from boredom! She asked her one day why she liked it so much and she would always reply with, _"because it is my job my little hatchling."_ Kah didn't quite understand what was so important about that but decided to drop the topic. Whenever she asked any of her family members she always got the same answer of _"it is my job. Other dragon's depend on us to do these jobs so we must do them and give it our best effort otherwise we all will suffer for it."_

She wondered to herself what her job would be. Every dragon that wasn't an elder worked for their place in the colony. The same thing was expected of her when she came of age but that didn't mean she had any idea of what to do. Her mother wanted her to become a record's keeper like she was but Kah never could sit still long enough to listen to the lessons being given to her. She had learned how to read by her mother's stubborn insistence but it was not something she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

In truth the things she really wanted to learn from her parent's like breathing fire or flying would only get her funny looks and be brushed off as something she would learn when she was older. Why wouldn't they teach her how to fly or breathe fire by now? From the brief times she had seen other dragons that looked her age she could tell that a lot of them could at the very least hop up to the lower tree branches in the garden which was as high as her father was tall. If the other's could do it by now then why couldn't she? She would often practice whenever she wasn't under one of the adult's noses by stretching and waving her oddly shaped wings, jumping as hard as she could in a desperate attempt to get off the ground for just a little bit longer. This would often end with her landing with a flopping thump as she tried and failed time and time again.

Maybe it was because she didn't have a tail? Most dragons she had seen flying had tails, maybe she would ask her parents if they could get her one. It was a funny thing now that she thought about it, she didn't look anything like her parents or even her annoying older brother. For some reason she was pink and didn't look like any other Nadder that she had seen before. Even the babies looked like their parents or at least that is what she had been told at least by Shiraav anyways.

She walked away from the book shelf she had been leering at and back to the overstuffed pillow that was laid out for her. She wanted to play in the garden but it was the afternoon and that meant that other dragon children would be out playing so her mother would never allow it. Maybe if she snuck out quietly she could go to the garden and just watch the others play. It would certainly be more fun than sitting on a pillow waiting for her father to come and get her and it's not like she would be playing with them so her parents should not have anything to worry about right?

She did not see any faults with her plan so while her mother had her nose deep in a book, Kah snuck quietly out of the room. Once she was past the doors thanks to a Terror's entrance that she was still just small enough to be able to squeeze through, soon enough she would be too big to be able to use them. Kah had been careful to duck and weave around the carved stone statues and the gorgeous pillars that had gold and silver filigree being careful to avoid the tower staff. If she got caught then she would be escorted back to the library and would be in a lot of trouble for sneaking out.

While Kah was trying to carefully navigate the long winding hallways, one of which would lead to the tower's garden she didn't notice the sullen Ahvos who stood directly behind her. She about jumped out of her skin when she turned around, fully expecting to be dragged back to her mother but the Terror just stood there with a slightly far off look in his eyes. After a minute the Terror cocked his head in a silent question, Kah considered turning tail and running back to the library as coming back on her own would get her in less trouble then if she had been escorted back by an adult, but something stopped her.

 _"Do you know where the garden is?"_ She asked as sweetly as she could and gave him her most winning smile as the Terror silently mulled over the question. He squinted at her for a moment as if he was wondering if he should take her back to her mother or tell her what she wanted. A brief minute passed before the older dragon seemed to come to a decision, he stood and raised a leg to point at a nearby door with a smile tugging at his face. _"Just through there, little one."_ He managed a small half smile before he continued on his way to wherever he had been going to before she bumped into him.

Deciding it was best to not push her luck she tried the door the terror had pointed to and found that he had been telling her the truth. The light that would filter in from the windows of the tower was nothing compared to the bright piercing light of the sun that shined down into the partially enclosed courtyard that the garden was kept in.

The colorful plants and sweet smelling flowers while a reward in their own right could not compare to the sounds and sight of several young dragons that looked her age playing together in the open courtyard. There was a cocky male Hobblegrunt, two Nadders that had to be brothers, a rather dumb looking male Scuttleclaw, a large but sweet sounding female Nightmare and most surprising of all, at the head of the group stood a grumpy looking male Skrill. Dragons in the colony were notoriously proud of their individual species but for the most part would work together when necessary, so it was unusual to see such a mixed group actually playing together.

Kah watched as they played a game where one of the dragons was 'it' while the others ran away. Kah watched as the other kids scattered, the brothers bickered and fought with one another heedless of the Scuttleclaw running towards the easy target, neither brother seeming to notice until he was right on them. When they realized their mistake the brothers scattered, one brother was running towards the rest of his group of friends, the Scuttleclaw following a few steps before being scared off by a short growl of warning from the Skrill causing him to turn around and chase the other brother… who was running straight towards Kah in her semi hidden spot.

Kah scrambled to get out of the way but she had waited too long, having been distracted by the Scuttleclaw giving chase that she hadn't thought to move herself to a safer position. She screeched in surprise along with the Nadder that tripped over her, the male wasn't much larger than her but he was much heavier. For the Nadder's part he yelped and flapped his wings in an attempt to catch himself but failed as he ungracefully flopped to the ground.

Kah was stunned by the blow but was otherwise unharmed, the Nadder got up and turned to glare at whatever he tripped over, likely suspecting a rock or a tree root, the look on his face when he saw the young human would have been quite humorous. It was that dumbstruck look that someone would have when looking at something but not really seeing it from sheer disbelief.

Before Kah could even think to run away while the Nadder collected his wits the rest of the group of friends had come over to see what was taking the brother so long to get up and return to the game. The Scuttleclaw of course being hot on the Nadder's tail was the first to arrive on the scene. He cocked his large head to the side clearly not understanding what he was looking at either but unlike the Nadder he was clearly much slower in the head than his friend was.

When the rest of the group arrived the Nadder that tripped went to his brother's side. The group eyed the young human with both curiosity and a little bit of ire for disrupting their game. Kah got to her feet and looked at the group curiously. She knew very well from her parent's constant warnings that other dragons would not easily accept her, they might get angry and could even hurt her. Right now they just looked at her, no one present having any idea of what to do much less how to react.

Kah knew that she needed to go back to the library, her mother would already be furious with her sneaking out and getting caught but she couldn't pass up this opportunity to at least talk to someone that wasn't her family. _"I am Kah, daughter of Strun and Faad."_ She postured herself as her father would, tall and proud with her chest puffed out, this only seemed to confuse the group even more as the Skrill took the lead and addressed Kah. _"Why should we care?"_ His tone was harsh and dismissive as he stared Kah down as if almost daring her to challenge him. None of the others spoke up, some choosing to wait and see how this played out while the others simply had better ideas of what to do.

The Skrill stood taller than her easily by a foot, he also was clearly the leader by how the others in the group both looked up to him while averting their eyes away from him at the same time. Kah had been learning from her father that some dragons were stronger than others in both character and presence, he had told her that sometimes the best course of action was to submit and slowly turn it to her advantage, take control by making others think they were in charge. This didn't really make sense to her, she was very proud but her father was the smartest dragon she knew so she supposed giving it a try would not hurt.

 _"I apologize for my rudeness, please tell me what your name is?"_ The Skrill chose not to answer right away instead he looked the human up and down as if he was trying to figure something out without any assistance. Finally he gave up with an annoyed grunt and addressed the human with a wary sort of confusion. _"What are you?"_ The other dragons seem to perk up a little at the question clearly interested in hearing an answer as well. Kah scoffed at the question before recomposing herself, _"a Nadder of course."_

The sheer certainty and confidence of her answer threw the collected dragons for a minute as they processed the answer given to them; then they started laughing. Kah felt her face go red but this must be what it meant to not be in control, right? For now she pushed the anger down and waited for the others to stop laughing. She had no idea why they were laughing but she also did not want to sound like a fool by asking. Soon enough the laughter died down as the Skrill shook his head _"you are not a Nadder."_ Kah felt her anger flare up again as she repeated herself a little more firmly, _"I am a Nadder."_

This time one of the brothers spoke up with a sharp bark of laughter _"you may be as ugly as my brother but you are no Nadder."_ The other brother laughed for a moment until he realised what his brother said and swatted at him with a wing, _"you are the ugly twin not me!"_ That quickly devolved into an 'am not', 'are too' fight between the brothers as they nipped and whipped at each other with their tails. This was ignored by the rest of the group as they turned their attention back to the now incredibly flustered Kah.

 _"Even the twins who are Nadders agree. So, what are you?"_ The Skrill leaned in as he egged on the shaking human. Kah was now gritting her teeth as she struggled to hold on to the last fraying strands of her patience. _"My parents have both told me I am a Nadder so it must be true."_ Kah stamped a foot on the ground to emphasize her point, the Skrill huffing and rolling his eyes dismissively in return.

At this, Kah went completely still as she remembered something else her father had told her, _'Kah, you must always show respect to other dragons, especially when they have more power than you but no matter what; never be ok with them not showing any respect to you.'_ This was also something that had not made sense to her at the time but now she knew what her father _really_ meant.

While Kah was considerably weaker than most dragon's her age she made up for it with a combination of a furious temper and a few dirty tricks from her brother about where a dragon's weak spot was. The Skrill shrieked in surprise as Kah lunged forward and sunk her teeth into the softer scales around his neck. An adult dragon would have nothing to worry about as their scales would be hardened with age but the same could not be said for a young child. Sinking her teeth into the Skrill's throat she shook her head wildly as she reaffirmed her hold. For the Skrill's part he batted at her with his wings as he tried to pry Kah off his throat with little effect.

The Skrill was too young to call a surge of electricity and could only try to swat at the human biting at his throat as she positioned herself in a way so that he couldn't pull her off or rip her to shreds with his sharp claws. He rolled several times to try and dislodge her but only succeeded in dirtying her clothing and further angering the human who lashed out with slaps, punches and kicks that weren't as effective as her clenched teeth on his neck but still painful nonetheless. The other dragons watched on in shock, none of them thought to intervene or to go and get an adult.

Suddenly a sharp roar rang out loudly through the garden causing all of the children to freeze. Kah let the flailing Skrill go and shrank back under her mother's livid glare. When Faad had realized that her daughter was missing she had gone tearing through the tower looking for her child only to find her fighting with a Skrill in the garden. None of the children dared to move, not even the Skrill who wanted to rub at his sore throat. The dragoness was so furious that she could not even speak properly for a minute, when she calmed enough to speak her words were heated and carried an authority that would make a titan winged dragon shutter. _"I want an explanation."_ Her heated gaze turned to her daughter first.

The young girl looked like she wished for the ground to swallow her up rather than have to face her angry mother. _"I am sorry, I just wanted to watch the others play."_ She shrunk more as Faad's eyes narrowed, that clearly wasn't what she wanted to hear. _"I got too close and one of the boys",_ she pointed at the Nadder that tripped over her _"had tripped over me when they were playing. Afterwards they asked me 'what I was'."_ She let out a low growl as she dared a scowl at the terrified Skrill, _"they keep saying I am not a Nadder."_

Kah expected her mother to growl at her for looking away but when she met her eyes she saw the briefest flashes of something she had never seen before. Since she had never seen it before she couldn't really tell what it actually was. After a second it passed and Faad had gone back to looking very mad. _"Kah we are going home. Now."_ With that said Faad turned and made her way over to the doorway and waited for her daughter to follow.

Kah turned to follow her mother but dared a glance back at the other children who were either looking away from the furious dragoness or making sure that the Skrill was all right. The Skrill looked at her with an odd mix of expressions on his face that Kah could only ponder about as she ran to follow her mother.

She walked silently as her mother fumed and made little mutters in her throat that Kah could not hear. She knew better then to try and apologize right now so she settled on trying to figure out what the odd looks she had gotten from the others were supposed to mean. Clearly she was missing something that others clearly knew. The other dragons had rudely called attention to things she herself had only just been starting to notice.

Whenever she looked into a pool of water or a reflective stone the thing that stared back at her was wrong. She did look different from her parents and her brother, she was also missing many things that a Nadder should have, especially at her age. When she asked about it she would get different stories from her parents, mostly her father.

_"Why are my wings not like yours?" She would lift her arms that she normally kept tuck by her side like her parents would. "Well my fierce little dragoness, you do not have wings really." He looked away from her for a moment before continuing, "They were stolen by a butterfly. I assure you my dear that I gave chase for many miles but your beautiful wings were simply too fast for me to catch up and it got away."_

_"Where are your horns? They simply haven't grown in yet. I do not know when they will grow in, some Nadders have this misfortune." He looked mournful for a moment before his face brightened up, "this does not mean you will be hornless, I will talk to Master Gelt and see if he can help us." Kah had no idea how that stern old dragon that always smelled like smoke and metal could help her grow her horns but she quickly grew bored with this and went back to the small toys in her room that used to belong to her brother._

_"Why do you not have a tail?" This question actually gave the older dragon pause, "well I actually have no idea what happened to your tail." His face creased with thought but he shook his head and quickly changed the topic._

There was always an underlying tension whenever she started asking questions like those, a tension that was clearly radiating off her mother right now. Things weren't adding up and the only thing keeping her from asking was the fact that her mother was still mad with her about sneaking out and she really didn't want to temp 'poking the beast' as her older brother would say whenever their mother wasn't around to hear him say it.

After an indeterminate amount of time Strun walked through the doorway clearly tired from a long day at work only to be greeted by his agitated wife and his daughter who looked like she would rather be anywhere else. He took in the scene with a sigh as if he expected something like this to be waiting for him when he returned. Despite her mood Faad greeted her husband warmly with a nuzzle before her face settled back into one of frustration.

Strun walked into their living quarters and sat down on a large sturdy bench that Kah always liked to hide under when she was smaller and sighed tiredly. _"I know that our daughter has snuck out already. Ahvos told me about it himself."_ Strun shook his head in mild disbelief before continuing, _"he told me that he found her wandering the halls while she looked for the garden. Said it reminded him of when his hatchling Osley was that age, always sneaking out and causing mischief."_

The normally sullen terror had been quite amused by the situation when he recounted it to Strun after he had found him. Even being council members who worked together quite often it was rather rare that they crossed paths much less spoke to each other. Nonetheless Strun knew from the gloomy Terror's lack of concern that his daughter was in no real danger and it would likely be only a matter of minutes before his wife went looking for their daughter.

Faad did not look as amused by the whole thing as her husband had and pointed to Kah with the tip of a wing. _"She had gotten into a fight in the courtyard with Nos."_ This actually managed to catch Strun by surprise, he never thought that his daughter would actually pick a fight with a Skrill. _"What happened?"_ Faad's annoyance dropped as fear crept into her face. _"Apparently he had began asking her some rather, unsavoury questions, that our daughter took offense to. When I found them she was attempting to rip open a hole in Nos's throat, I broke it up and brought her back here."_

His wife sidestepping the reason for the fight was immediately concerning but he took the cue and looked to his daughter who wouldn't meet his eye, he crouched down as much as he could to meet her on her level without being laid out flat on the floor. _"Kah, I want you to be honest with me young lady so look me in the eye."_ Kah reluctantly did, her father took a brief pause before asking _"did you win?"_ Strun laughed as his wife flicked at his butt with her tail but it seemed to lighten the mood of the room.

While Strun barked with laughter and Faad grumbled aloud until a soft knocking on the door had all the rooms occupants turn to look. Strun bit the bullet and opened the door to see who was there. To the dragon's surprise there was a small group of young dragons waiting. Nos looked reluctant to be there but the group behind him wouldn't allow him to retreat that easily. Seeing Strun standing there instead of the scary Faad helped the Skrill to gather his nerve. _"Hello sir, might your daughter be home?"_ Kah poked her head around her father's legs to eye the Skrill a little incredulously but waited for him to say what he wanted.

He looked back at his friends before taking a deep breath, _"sorry."_ The Skrill, Nos only looked semi apologetic and looked like he was resisting the urge to rub at his throat. Strun stepped aside and gave his daughter a gentle nudge with a wing. Kah straightened herself as she considered the apology before nodding and gave back an equally half hearted apology that earned her a small chuckle from Nos.

Kah fully expected that to be the end of things, she would be shuffled back into her room while her parent's considered what her punishment would be. Nos looked to Strun and Faad, the latter making him shuffle awkwardly on his feet for a moment before asking _"can she come out and play?"_ Kah looked to her parents with wide pleading eyes begging for their approval.

Strun looked towards his wife for confirmation before nodding and shooing away the children to go play. _"Thank you! I will be back in time for dinner."_ With that the young girl ran off to play with her new friends while her parents watched her go. Strun resolved quietly to call for Shiraav to watch over the children but for the moment the dragon could only sigh in relief.

That had been far too close. Strun and Faad had both known that this would come up one day, they had resolved to tell their daughter the truth early on but the years just flew past in the blink of an eye. While they both knew humans both aged faster and had shorter lifespans than they did, they never could find the right time to broach the topic with their daughter. Kah was smart though she lacked patients and focus to be immediately concerning but she was rapidly starting to catch on that something was different about her.

This incident was a harsh reminder that this was something that they would need to address soon if they wanted to cushion the blow. Neither had an idea of how to go about it which led to them wanting to put it off even more. The couple exchanged questioning looks before they shook their heads and decided to deal with it later after they came up with a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it my dear duckies <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear duckies! I'm hard at work with several projects like the next chaper of Spark of Interest, Mr. Hitman and a project that will only be posted after the end of Mr. Hitman as to give both stories some breathing room and so they don't get rushed.
> 
> I've also been working on a few mini stories including Malcan parodys, two of which are in the works but are going sooooo slow! Either way, expect more writing from me soon and as always ~Enjoy

A few months had passed since Kah had been welcomed into her new group of friends. She had been in a lot of trouble after her parent's remembered how mad they were with her ending in a week long punishment. Her mother had given her quite the scolding and had grounded her.

She sat in front of a thick old book for her history lesson for that day. Mindovin was one of the dragons her mother worked with and who had agreed to be her personal tutor in exchange that she relieved him of some of his overwhelming work load.

It didn't take Kah long to realise that her tutor was even stricter and more no nonsense then her mother had been when it came to her lessons. He also seemed to be much more observant than her mother had been, so sneaking off wasn't an option anymore much to her annoyance. She had learned very early on from her mother that she would not allow her daughter to go uneducated and that if she did not learn these things she couldn't fully understand her colony's history or truly be able to appreciate things here and that she would understand when she's older.

It was always weird when her parents started talking like that. It was almost like they knew something that she didn't but as annoying as it was she relented and sat through her lessons as boring as they were.

_"We are Gosvah colony, wood. We are a branch colony of the Lokoltei, the Empire colony. We are one of seven colonies that split away from the Lokoltei because of a severe overpopulation issue. Our colony was the third to split away due to this problem. The islands we occupy was founded by- **Pay attention!** " _

Kah jerked back to attention, she had begun nodding off in the middle of the older dragon's lesson. It wasn't her fault that the old dragon was boring her to tears! Honestly, why was any of this important? The islands had been founded, dragons lived here in peace, nothing that should be overly important to her.

The stern old dragon collected his patience before he continued, this time with a considerably thinner tone. _"Our colony was founded by Liz Vund the steady along with the protection and aid of Rahgot Bloodbane. Liz Vund had gone through several islands, many did not meet his standards or lacked the resources or the island wasn't big enough to sustain our population's growth. Rahgot had also denied many of the islands for being indefensible from rogue clans of while dragons or were too close to human settlements."_

Humans weren't something that Kah was strictly familiar with, though she had heard of them before. She always assumed that they were a type of dragon she had never heard of but then again, she still wasn't good at being able to name the different types of dragons that she lived witho She had asked her mother once but she was never given a clear answer.

It always felt like the adults were avoiding the question and Kah would quickly forget about it as soon as something more interesting came along and ran off with her short attention span. Even now she felt herself starting to go cross eyed as the old dragon droned on. She wanted to play with her friends, not learn things from this boring old dragon. She snuck a glance out the window knowing that when certain shadows hit a small groove she had sneakily cut into the window frame that her boring history lesson would be over for the day.

The old dragon rumbled in his throat knowing that she had stopped paying attention again. Mindovin could see why Faad would want the occasional break from trying to teach her unfocused child. She wasn't stupid but he saw little hope for her following in her mother's foot steps. Seeing no point in trying to continue when his student didn't even try to hide how little she wasn't trying at this point.

A knock at the door drew the room's occupant's attention to Mul, who came to pick up his sister from her lessons. Mul looked rather amused as his little sister scrambled off the pillow she sat on to run out into the hall, easily slipping past her brother who didn't even try to stop her. The old scribe shot the guardsmen a look of mild relief. _"She will never be a scholar. Best you try and convince your parents of that sooner than later."_

Mul shrugged his shoulders like he always did. There was little hope of trying to convince his mother of anything, the best that any of them could hope for was that she came around to the idea on her own. Master Gelt had once described her as having a will made of titanium, a strong and resistant metal and Mul found himself silently agreeing with the blacksmith.

Kah tugged on her brother's wing with her teeth and butted him with her head impatiently. Kah had a playdate with three out of the terrible seven as they came to be known as. She didn't want to be late because of idol chatter from adults who didn't value the few hours of daylight she had left to play in. Mul snorted in amusement and followed his sister as she practically skipped and leaped in excitement.

Oh to be that young, no responsibilities, hours of carefree play, he almost envied her. He certainly had fun when he was a child but it was different now that he was older. He was in training for an important job that would benefit his whole colony, especially with tensions that were starting to build within the guard's ranks.

Of course none of this bothered his sister. She was a boundless source of energy who clearly wasn't affected by the problems of the world and he couldn't help but feel that this was something that should be protected for as long as possible.

This didn't stop him from teasing his sister by popping her on the head lightly with a wing tip. She reacted by swatting at his wing with a growl of warning. _"Aww, the wee one thinks she's fierce does she?"_ Kah jumped against her brother's wing using her full, if admittedly small, amount of body weight to push back his wing if only by an inch.

 _"I am. One day I will be as well respected as our parents."_ Mul's deep chuckling only served to make her puff up even more _"you will? I'd like to see that."_ She nodded completely self assured, " _I will, and when I do I'll make sure to rub your nose in it!"_ Mul laughed heartily and patted his sister on the head. _"I'll await that day then."_

As soon as the siblings stepped foot into the garden Kah was gone from her brother's side and was standing at the base of the tree. Mul blinked, looking down to his side then over to where his sister was standing with surprise. His parents had warned him that his sister could disappear in an instant but he never expected that she could move that fast.

He could see her friends waiting for her in the higher branches of the tree. Mul held back a wince as her attempts to jump up to the lowest branch where her Nightmare friend waited failed. None of the dragons in the tree said anything as they waited for their friend to join them. Whether this was because they knew better then to prod his sister on this topic or because Mul was an adult he couldn't tell. Despite her failed attempts Mul knew his sister could climb a tree faster than a Terror could but their mother would glare at them both if she dirtied her clothing.

Nothing that any of his guard captains could do to him could come close to striking the fear in his heart like his mother's stern glare could.

Mul grabbed his sister by the back of her shirt, a thick looped piece of fabric had been sewn in to allow the adults to pick her up without harming her or tearing her clothing, and lifted her up onto the branch in the tree despite his sister's protests. Once he was sure that his sister was secure on the branch he laid down on the ground under them so he could ensure his sister's safety without disrupting them.

Kah grumbled to herself quietly before shaking that off turning to her friend Enkii. The Nightmare smiled at her friend and greeted her warmly. She was happy to have another girl in the group, the boys were alright but they had a tendency to find the grossest things or chose to roughhouse too much. While she could certainly hold her own in a play fight, she just didn’t have it in her to intentionally harm another dragon beyond what was strictly needed. Kah was always happy to sit and talk about anything with her friend while the boys made a mess of the gardens that the groundskeepers worked so hard to maintain.

Nos sat tall and proud on the top most branch as the leader should. The Skrill was being his normal grumpy self as he held a half hearted conversation with Natt the Hobblegrunt who was seemingly unaware or was choosing to ignore the other dragon’s disinterest. Natt sat himself a few branches lower than Nos respecting the small hierarchy the group had developed.

Kah being the newest member meant that she was on the bottom most rung of the ladder but what she lacked in strength she more than made up for in sheer confidence. _"Where are the others?"_ Enkii rolled her eyes in an unusual show of annoyance _"Rovit needs extra lessons with his parents."_ That was code for the Scuttleclaw needing more remediation lessons with his family. _"Ven and Gol are in big trouble for playing tug of war with a pretty thing of fabric and ripping it to shreds."_ The young Nightmare heated up everything around her as she tried to suppress the urge to ignite. Kah's clothing was painted down with a fire resistant substance but it didn't protect her from the heat her friend gave off.

 _"That pretty fabric was going to be used for my dress!"_ Dragons mostly walked around in their scales, clothing was usually only worn for work or special occasions with the exception of Kah. _"What is your dress for?"_ Enkii blinked in surprise, the question also managed to get the attention of the boys who were watching quietly. _"It's for my hatching day party."_

A dragon's hatching day was celebrated well into their early teenage years, the grown ups would give gifts and treats while the young dragon got out of their chores for the day. Kah's hatching days were spent with her family in her room where she would get toys and jerky which was a rare treat. _"You didn't know about it? My parents talked to your parents about it."_

This came as a complete surprise to the young girl. She had heard nothing about a party, maybe her parents only just heard about it and hadn't gotten a chance to tell her about it yet.

Nos couldn't stand the awkward silence anymore and chose that time to cut in. _"Hey Kah, what are you wearing on your head?"_ Kah perked up at the question. Her parents had given her a blue leather cap that had a ridge of metal horns that were painted to look like Nadder horns. _"Dad said that Master Gelt made me my horns since they weren't coming in on their own!"_

She practically squeaked in delight as she turned her head to show off her new horns. It had taken a few tries to get the size and weight right. There were a few times during the fittings where she would topple over from the weight imbalance on her head. Master Gelt had taken it as a personal challenge and refused to give up even when he had other projects to work on for the colony.

 _"He said he would make me the other parts I was missing."_ She wanted nothing more than to have a set of wings, then she might finally be able to practice flying like her friends who were already flying short distances and were capable of getting up to high ledges in the gardens and around the tower complex.

This got a weird look from the others but it was quickly smoothed over as they continued to talk. Mul rested at the base of the tree as he tried to calm his speeding heart. Thankfully none of the other members of the terrible seven's parents had said anything to their kids about Kah being a human yet.

His own parents had to explain it to him when his sister turned three. He had never been allowed to go further than the small islands that surrounded the colony so he never had the chance to run past them, he knew of humans but had no idea what they looked like. His parent's wanted to make this work for her and he couldn't blame them after he had gotten his head around the full story. He had always wanted siblings but hushed conversations he overheard from his parents over the years kept him from ever bringing the matter up.

While it was quieted down at first it wasn't long before dragons in the barracks started talking about his sister's existence, all of which would immediately die as soon as he walked into the room. It was evident that they were talking about his family. Not long after that Mul started seeing evidence that his things were being tampered with. His bed would be a mess and his armor would be dirty and ill fitting at morning inspections. The guard captain would find every little thing and utterly rip him to shreds before the other recruits.

He put up with all of this as Maleyk made his life an utter hell through his training but this only served to strengthen his resolve. He wouldn't allow himself to be run off by some hot headed bigot. Even with multiple delays to his graduation he stuck it out and his promotion was finally granted to him. All of this of course was done without the aid of his parents, he was an adult which meant that he needed to handle his problems not rely on his parents.

He was still fighting with Maleyk on every little thing that didn't have anything to do with the duties expected of his job. The council dragon was only around thirty years older than him and it was rumored that he only had his seat for his bloodline alone, maybe that was why the Nightmare was so stubborn in trying to prove himself. Mul still knew better than to mouth off to a guardsmen who was not only a higher rank then him but was also a member of the council. He just needed to grit his teeth and bare it not only for his family but for himself as well.

It didn't hurt that he had aid from a small group of his friends and even a few dragons that didn't agree with Maleyk's treatment of him. The most surprising dragon in his corner was Vur Bloodbane. She was Maleyk's niece and would openly chastise her uncle for abusing his position like he was. She was like Mul, a low ranked guard who aspired to climb the ranks by her own efforts and skills rather than relying on her family's name. Outside of their jobs the two didn't cross paths much but were cordial to one another when they did.

Maleyk's obvious hatred towards his sister was concerning. He couldn't get to Kah because there was always someone to watch over her and from what his father told him it seems like the Nightmare was happy to keep his distance from the human he hated so much. Strun said that if he took any action against his sister that he would kill the hot blooded dragon himself, consequences be damned. Really, he should consider himself lucky if it was his father that killed him, Mul shuttered at the thought of what would happen if his mother got to him first. None of this meant that he wouldn't take the chance to get rid of his sister if the opportunity presented itself and that thought was what scared him the most.

Mul was torn from his thoughts by a loud thump. He looked to see his sister and her friends running off in the direction of the kitchens, likely planning on raiding it for treats. He jumped to his feet and ran after the group, all his previous thoughts and concerns left behind as he went to make sure that the kid's theft wouldn't be taken out of his hide by the cooks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that kudos are awesome but comments make my day! I love chatting with people here.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear duckies, I'm sorry for the long delays between chapters. This chapter has been finished for a while but I couldn't be bothered to finish the editing for some reason.
> 
> I hope to get another chapter up much sooner than later. Look forward to more stories and chapters soon!
> 
> ~Enjoy

Mul stormed out of the captain’s office in a bad mood. He had gotten out of an hour long screaming session for something so petty and stupidly small that he couldn't even remember what it even was that had gotten him such a severe chewing out. Maleyk had always been hot headed and aggressive but he was fair and careful not to play favorites.

Now?

All of that had been thrown out the window and plummeted like a dragon with his wings torn off, ancestors forbid. There were days that Mul had to stick to the shadows and rely on the few dragons that were brave enough to help him just so he could avoid the flaming, raging juggernaut on the worst of his bad days, which were growing at an alarming frequency. Nothing would have made the frustrated Nadder happier than to see the Nightmare blow a blood vessel in his head and die from it.

There were times when those fantasies were the only things that helped him make it through the day. It was getting harder to avoid the hot blooded Nightmare when so many dragons were taking leave to either start a family or venture out to the other colonies to seek out a potential mate. A part of him envied them, they could go out and explore, see new faces rather than the same dragons you see every day.

_ “Not having to see his face would certainly make my day.” _ Mul couldn't help but growl under his breath. He wasn't even sure of what was keeping him here some days other than his sister. She was the source of the majority of his problems nowadays; no that wasn't right. His problems were because of Maleyk and  _ his _ problem with his sister.

Kah could be a handful at times but she was completely harmless. From what he had seen from the few times he babysat her, he had seen her grow more comfortable and confident in her home and herself. He couldn't blame his sister for his problems but it certainly was tempting in his weaker moments.

_ “Mul! Are you alright?” _ Mul shot his friend Kaviir, a look that told her everything she needed to know. The skittish Hobblegrunt flinched and backed away with a squeak of apology which only made the frustrated Nadder feel worse.  _ “Sorry Kaviir, I haven't been having a good day so far, I didn't mean to glare at you.” _

The servant nodded quickly but remained out of the heated Nadder’s path.  _ “I think I need a break, are you busy with anything?” _

Kaviir hesitated a moment before shaking her head and motioning the Nadder to follow her.  _ "More trouble with Maleyk?" _ The Hobblegrunt's voice quaver nervously as she spoke the Nightmare's name. Maleyk wasn't hostile towards the servants or maids but he didn't hold them in high regard either. His constant bellowing and roaring at the smallest things over these last few years had been increasingly stressful for any dragon caught in his path.

_ "He hasn't been very reasonable as of late. _ " Mul knew better than to run his mouth about his captain or a council member, even when he found the unspoken social rule stupid. While he wasn't willing to suck up to the irascible Nightmare, he knew where to tow the line.

Mul wasn't the only one taking note of the council dragon's behavior either. The guard core was dwindling in numbers as dragons flew out to other colonies to seek out partners or to find new opportunities, opportunities that were well away from the wrathful dragon.

_ "Maleyk has been even more mad that so many of the guards have left. You didn't hear this from me but the number of guards left is at the lowest we've ever been since the colony's founding. It's so bad that there's an official order for all the remaining guards to stay on the islands and those of us who have stayed are getting yelled at everyday for it." _

The Nightmare was either too proud or more likely too arrogant to admit that he was the one who had driven away most of the island's guards. He also hadn't put in all that much work to attract new dragons instead choosing to rely on the boost of trainees that the changing seasons provided. This was either an exceptionally slim year for new guards or they refused to sign up after witnessing the way current guards were getting treated.

_ "Is that why he was so angry with you?" _ Mul shook his head with a snort in his nose.  _ "Who can know?" _ In truth Mul had a few ideas but he had already said too much as it was. While he liked Kaviir, she was only a servant and he couldn't trust her not to let it slip to the other servants who tended to gossip about things that were well above their station.

No, for now she knew as much as she needed to. She gave him her goodbyes as she left to get back to work before she got a scolding from the head maid.

Mul supposed that he felt a little bit better than he had when leaving the captain's office. Maybe some food would help, it was late for lunch but he might be able to get something if he was quick enough.

He passed by a few other dragons as he walked towards the dining hall. From the chill in the air, Mul knew that the council would start rationing food, soon as the rapidly approaching winter would force fish deeper into the oceans and the frost would kill most of the vegetation, not that most dragons ate it anyways.

Once he was at the end of the short line for food he gave a wink to the cute Zippleback serving food, the left head blushed while the right head gave him a coy little wink right back.  _ "Make sure to keep your sister and her friends out of the kitchens, if the cook finds them in there again he'll put them in a pot or a pie, ya hear cutie?" _

Mul chuckled and nodded and left to eat his meal. He wasn't surprised to hear that his sister and her friends were a nuisance to the cook but then again, most young dragons were at that age.

He was only half way through his meal when Strun sat down beside him with his own fish platter. He greeted his father politely as he started on his own lunch. Neither dragon said anything as they ate their meals in a peaceful quiet.

Before either finished, Strun finally spoke up.  _ "Prem asked me to help the forging teams with the next hunt, would you like to join me?" _

That sounded like an amazing idea, it was so appealing that he practically jumped at the opportunity before remembering his manners and gave an eager nod instead. Then again, anything that got him away from the unreasonable Nightmare sounded perfect.

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Strun snorted softly in his nose in annoyance. It had been an unusually lean year forcing the island's dragons to search even further to make sure their thinning food stores would hold until spring.

Prem had drafted him into the scavenging party when the usual number of hunters and fishers dropped below what she was happy with. He had been a capable hunter and tracker before he was voted into the council so it only made sense that he joined in the search before most of the larger animals moved beyond their expanded hunting grounds, leaving them with fishing as their only semi reliable source of food if they could dive deep enough.

Half of their best fishers unfortunately had ventured out along with most of the other younger dragons to search for mates or expand their training for their jobs as new dragons came in for the same reasons. They would normally come back in spring with new mates and hatchlings when the air was warmer and food was much more bountiful. Sometimes they stay with their new colony and so the cycle would continue.

Faad herself had migrated to the colony when Strun was being considered for a seat on the council. The beautiful dragoness had immediately caught his eye and he found himself having to really work to gain her attention. She had not been impressed with him at first and had brushed him off in favor of getting herself settled into her new life. Her initial disinterest had not discouraged him like it had with other males. Strun always found little excuses to go and talk with her whether it was to find a necessary document as a part of his training for the council or to share food prepared from animals he had hunted and killed himself.

Brief conversations and the occasional walk together turned into hours of talking that would only end when one of them fell asleep, short walks would turn into long flights together as the two developed their bond.

Faad would later admit that she was having a hard time adjusting to the new colony and so many new dragons that she had completely shut herself off to others until she felt adjusted. Strun was willing to wait for her even when he had countless other dragons attempting to court him, he had helped her to come out of her shell and thrive in her new home and that's what convinced her to allow Strun to court her.

A soft breeze passed over him carrying with it the smell of a buck, breaking Strun free from his thoughts of their population or fond memories of his courting. This would be a healthy addition to the colony's larder for sure. Strun quietly stalked towards the source of the smell carefully avoiding branches and noisy plants that would give away the large dragon's position to any nearby animals. Strun's target was a massive buck that unknowingly stood with his back to the massive predator silently watching him just down wind.

The buck was clearly a fearsome creature, his pelt was a map of scars likely from other bucks and other predators that stalked the forest, this clearly was an animal deserving of respect and fear by all the other creatures in this forest. It was almost a shame that Strun had to kill the creature but that didn't stop him from crashing down on the unsuspecting buck's back, crushing him with enough force that the creature never even knew what happened to him.

Strun threw the buck onto his back as respectfully as possible and moved to the meeting spot that he and his son had agreed upon earlier. The older dragon smiled to himself as he walked into the clearing to find his son waiting for him with a small pile of rabbits. While it didn't please him to know that his son didn't find anything big enough to help their food stores, he did allow himself to take a little bit of pride in the fact that he could still out hunt his younger son even at his age.

It wasn't too common that the two hunted together, especially after Mul had moved into the barracks. Mul had become a capable young male who had long since grown past needing his father's aid with anything, soon enough he would find a mate and start a family of his own so trips like this would all but stop.

Mul eyed his sire enviously but kept it to himself as he gathered up the small pile of rabbits in a burlap sack he had brought with him. Strun flicked the buck off of his back and picked it up with his talons before the two took to the air and started the journey back home.

The two flew silently together, neither dragon needed to say anything but Mul had a somewhat pensive expression that Strun picked up on almost immediately.  _ "What's wrong Mul?" _

Mul shook his head and opened his mouth before pausing to reconsider his words. He knew better than to lie to his father but that didn't mean he could or even should tell him everything. Strun waited patiently for his son to think of what he wanted to say. Too many dragons these days didn't know how to wait. Mul shook his head before sighing.  _ "Would you believe that you weren't the first to ask me that question today?" _

Strun waited for Mul to continue much to the younger dragon's annoyance, it would have been so much easier if his father was the type to pry it out of him.  _ "There have been difficulties as of late. We are being stretched thin with so many dragons fleeing- I mean, branching out." _

Strun nodded along as Mul picked his words.  _ "A lot of dragons are just happy to get away from Maleyk at this point." _ Mul shook his head in frustration. He shouldn't be talking about this, his father had more than enough on his mind with his council duties and taking care of his sister and mother. 

Mul dropped low towards the sea and let the tip of his wing skim the top of the water leaving a trail causing the water to split in a thin line.

Strun eyed the trail as water settled back into its deceptively calm appearance.  _ "Maybe you should be one of the dragons that is going out." _ This caught Mul off guard as his wings involuntarily stiffened causing him to take a brief but very cold dip into the water. He beat his wings to pull himself out of the sea, he snorted and shook his head in irritation. Whether it was because he couldn't take his father's words seriously or if he just got a good nose full of salt water, Strun couldn't tell.

_ "Why not?"  _ Mul turned to face his sire with an incredulous sort of bemusement. _ "How could I? I'm one of the few guards that have stuck around despite the tension-" _ Mul snapped his muzzle shut as he hissed at himself for his slip up.

His father certainly picked up on it and gave him a questioning look that bordered on concern. He still didn't say anything  which made it all that more difficult. Why was it so easy to let these little things slip when it came to his father?

Strun's face was that carefully maintained mask that he reserved for his council duties, whether this was a good thing or not, Mul couldn't tell. It wasn't his father's place to be enquiring about the well being of the guard, his duties were primarily focused on the colony's general well being and relationships with the other colonies, not the guards.

That job unfortunately belonged to the very dragon who was running it and all of the dragons under him right off a cliff.

Strun was careful to keep his tone even,  _ "I believe it would be in your best interest that you find a little time to take care of yourself. I've been busy greeting a lot of the new dragons, plenty of them are capable young dragons that could give us a little breathing room." _ Strun could see the smallest flash of longing in his son's eye at this.

_ "Once things settle down a little and the new dragon's take up their jobs I think that the guards wouldn't hurt too much from allowing just one more dragon to go out for a few years." _ Strun allowed the mask to slip as a small smile tugged at the corners of his muzzle.

He knew he had said a lot of this before to his son but it wouldn't hurt to repeat himself as long as he didn't do it too often. _ "Son, you know that you can do anything you want with your life. There are not enough words to express how proud I am of you, but I think it's time that you take a few years off to explore and let yourself just be a dragon. Soon enough you'll be too old or have too many responsibilities to just put your life on hold and go out and have fun and explore if this is really what you want for your life. I did, your mother certainly did, believe it or not." _

This got an incredulous squawk from the younger Nadder which made Strun laugh.  _ "It's true! Your mother apparently was very wild, constantly shirking her chores, painting crude and vulgar drawings on the outsides of important buildings and generally being a pain in the tail." _

Now that Faad was older she looked back on her teenage years with a clear sense of embarrassment. It was rare when she spoke of those times and Strun found endless levels of amusement when his wife dropped her stern attitude long enough to tell him stories of her younger years. The blush to her face was always so cute when she would tell them.

_ "Is it really alright? Rogue dragons are always a problem we've been warned about in the guards. Wouldn't me going off to 'be a dragon' be the same thing as going rogue?" _ Mul was unusually defensive, if it bothered Strun he didn't show it.

_ "That sounds like an excuse to me. In the coming days you'll find yourself thinking about it more, I only ask before you go that you come and say goodbye to us first." _

Mul flicked his head away and picked up his pace a little as the raised islands came into view. The younger dragon might not be able to out hunt his father yet but he could certainly out fly him. Strun smiled to himself then beat his aging wings to catch up to his son, he might be younger and faster but that didn't mean he wouldn't give his son a good race.

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The islands were surrounded by thick clouds that were hard to fly through because of how thick and wet they were. The colony dragons could easily clear them away if they wanted to but aside from being a chore to navigate they served as one of the first of the island's defences.

Small alcoves carved into the sides of the mountain served to hide a guard that would fly out to dispose of any threat or greet any returning dragon.

This time it was Vur who was sitting on the ledge, the large dragon was far too big to be concealed on the lean ledge but she stood full at attention, trained eyes scanning the dense clouds for any sign of movement. Her eye's immediately locked onto the two Nadders as they flew close, Mul growled a greeting as the Nightmare nodded in return.

Mul stopped long enough to check in with his fellow guard.  _ "Anything to report?" _ Mul slipped into guard mode as Vur shook her head.  _ "Nothing. Six of the ten scouting parties have returned, you and your father included." _ Always straight to the point.

_ "Good. Do you know how long you have left in your shift? Who's going to be relieving you?" _

Vur shook her head again and let a small annoyed huff slip past her professional demeanor before smoothing it over again.  _ "I am stationed here until dusk. Not too many of the new guards are eager to work under the captain, so a lot of us are going to start being put on double shifts soon." _

Mul winced slightly as he thought of the upcoming winter and what it would entail for their thinning numbers as well as the dragons that would sleep through most of the winter. Mul himself was starting to feel more sluggish and tired as the air grew colder, this was also visible as other dragons were starting to slow down to conserve energy.

Before Mul could respond a slight whistling caught both of the guard's attention. They looked upwards as the whistling was followed by a faint but growing scream. The massive buck that Strun had been carrying earlier fell past them and continued towards the ocean.

Neither guard knew what to make of this until the screaming grew shaper before passing them along with a small shadow in the clouds as it continued downwards. The screaming was followed by a much larger shadow that was clearly Strun diving past them.

The two guards blinked and dived towards the ocean following after Strun. A small splash was followed by an even louder splash as the two dragons broke through the clouds in time to see Strun diving into the water. In his claws was Kah as she sputtered and choked on water before she squeaked and cried.

Strun flew rapidly up towards the lowest standing island that was low enough to have the sea flood it during high tide. When Mul and Vur caught up they saw Strun carefully looking over his daughter, Kah crying on the ground as she held her arm close to her chest as the other arm clutched at her side. The rest of the terrible seven watched, their faces a mixture of terror, obvious concern and all of them were confused.

No one had any idea what was going on, Strun collected his wits faster than the others and turned to the rest of the children, he fought to keep his voice in check as he interrogated the rest of the children. Kah was clearly in pain as she spat up whatever sea water she had swallowed between sobs that she tried to fight down.

The rest of the terrible seven either stammered or randomly shouted over each other in a confused mess. Mul turned to see Shiraav gasping and panting as the stout dragon dropped gracelessly on the island. She fought to catch her breath as her face screwed up in pain and concern,  _ "s-sorry. I looked away for a moment and the children were g-one. They had scattered and I didn't know who to follow." _

Strun looked up from the six young dragons as he looked towards the old nursemaid. She continued after a few deep breaths looking exhausted,  _ "the children were talking about lessons of some sort, I looked all over for them but I couldn't find them." _

Shiraav was in tears as she carefully picked Kah up in her mouth, soft sobs grew louder as she was moved despite the old nurse's gentle handling.  _ "I will take her to the healer!" _ Once the young girl was gathered in her mouth she flapped her tired old wings to begin her long path up towards the colony's medical center.

Once his daughter was taken care of, Strun looked to the children again with far less patience than before. Nos stepped forward, head bowed as he spoke in a tiny voice.  _ "We- I, sorry! Kah wanted to fly so bad, we had been trying to help her. I thought that maybe if she jumped from high up enough that her wings would, I don't know; come out?" _

The Skrill wasn't being completely honest as he scrambled to make up a story of half truths to try and convince the adults who clearly weren't falling for any of it. Nos saw this but pressed on anyways,  _ "we thought it would work, it did for the rest of us when we were learning how to fly." _

The other dragons shifted nervously behind the Skrill as he tried to take the blame and spare his friends. The child had the makings of a leader but he was far from being a convincing liar.

The adults frowned down at the children as they seem to shrink under the withering gazes they gave. Strun was the first to break the silence with a sigh. The children weren't entirely to blame for this, they were in a lot of trouble but Strun knew he was just as responsible for this happening as they were.

Strun snorted in his nose before directing the children up towards the main islands leaving Mul and Vur alone to process what all just happened. Vur shook her head as she walked towards the edge as Mul sat back in shock. His sister had almost died, had they not seen Vur or had come back just an hour later, Kah could have died.

It was likely she had jumped from a lower island, the thick clouds likely slowing her down enough to keep the impact from killing her but nowhere near enough to save from injury.

_ "You go and check back in before those rabbits start to rot. I hope your sister will be alright." _ Vur's surprisingly soft but neutral voice was enough to break him free from his thoughts. He nodded, still in shock. He had completely forgotten about the rabbits in his pack, the buck his father had been carrying was lost to the sea.

Vur allowed a small look of concern to slip on her face as she looked up towards where the rest of the dragons were heading before she hopped off the ledge, likely returning to her post as Mul shook his head to try and clear his head long enough to fly back up to the main island to check up on his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I absolutely love receiving comments and kudos are awesome!

**Author's Note:**

> As always let me know what you think, comments and kudos are always appreciated!


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